Happy E-Discovery Day !

Today is the 4th annual E-Discovery Day across the globe. Here in New Zealand, we are ahead of the rest of the world (well, in time zone anyway), so we get to celebrate before others.

A day devoted to just eDiscovery, surely not?

For many of us that live and breathe eDiscovery (and have done so for many years), it is great to have a day dedicated to this. If there can be a ‘Be kind to lawyers day’, then can be an E-Discovery Day ! [Coincidentally 4 December is also “Wear Brown Shoes Day”].

In all seriousness, eDiscovery, or those participating in the practice of eDiscovery are often not given adequate attention or respect. It is often not easy articulating exactly what an eDiscovery professional does.

eDiscovery, or the discovery process impacts so many of us.

If you litigate, face a regulatory inquiry, or just help manage information then eDiscovery is probably part of your world in some form or another. Whether we call it ‘discovery’ or ‘eDiscovery’, the process remains the same as it has always been. It is a process that has been complicated by the proliferation of electronic information, requiring greater attention and skills to manage the information.

So what is E-Discovery Day?

Straight from the official website – E-discovery day is an industry-wide, vendor-neutral celebration of e-discovery’s vital role in the legal process.

It is a global day to celebrate those working in the eDiscovery space, many of which operate in the background and do not get the full appreciation of the value their skillset(s) provide.

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, as anyone can join in to learn and collaborate with these great initiatives.

Growing appreciation of the value of eDiscovery

Globally eDiscovery has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, made up of technology and services to assist law firms and their clients. All predictions are that this will only continue to grow over the coming years.

Even though a day totally devoted to eDiscovery may be too much for some, there is growing appreciation of the value of both the technology and the skillset(s) to manage the eDiscovery process. As the information volumes are only going to increase, it is important to keep learning about latest practices and developments to help to manage the discovery process efficiently, cost-effectively and accurately.

Today (or tomorrow for those in different time zones), join in some of the initiatives and take the time to celebrate E-Discovery Day.